How Many Systems Can You Use Adobe Products (CC, CS6) On?

This is one of the most common questions we get, and the answer may pleasantly surprise you… The place to look to find the answer is the Software License Agreement, also called the terms of use or EULA. This agreement governs the use of your Adobe product, and is translated into 28 languages within each document. It also covers some basics about product activation.

So, in general, how many systems can you install Adobe software on, including the Creative Cloud (CC) and CS6? The answer for individuals (as opposed to businesses) in most cases is two. The catch is that both computers must be used only by you and the two systems cannot be used at the same time. This policy was designed so that you could run Creative Cloud (or Creative Suite) at home on your desktop PC, as well as while traveling with your laptop. But the types of computers and their usage has blurred so much now that you can just pick any two you own and the product should install and properly activate on both…

2.1.3 Portable or Home Computer Use. Subject to the important restrictions set forth in Section 2.1.4 [having to do with volume licensees], the primary user of the Computer on which the Software is installed … may install a second copy of the Software for his or her exclusive use on either a port­able Computer or a Computer located at his or her home, provided that the Software on the port­able or home Computer is not used at the same time as the Software on the primary Computer.

4.1 Use of Software: Subscription-Based License. You may activate the Software on up to 2 devices (or virtual machines) at a time, if these activations are associated with the same Adobe ID for the same individual, unless stated at the Adobe Activation page. However, you may not use the Software on these devices simultaneously.

Important Details – and Key Differences with CC

So the primary user may install another copy on a secondary computer for their own use, but the two installations cannot be used simultaneously. Generally, for Creative Suite and Adobe Acrobat, the two machines should also be of the same operating system (Windows or Mac), because the software is licensed and delivered for use on one specific platform.

Another key benefit with Creative Cloud is that it does not use serial numbers like CS did – instead, you activate CC by logging in with your Adobe ID, thereby providing the ability to more flexibly manage your usage. So if you install the CC apps onto a third computer, it will ask you if you want to automati­cally deactivate the other two… Just hit “Continue” at the Maximum Activations Exceeded box, and it will handle activation of your new system and deactivation of the others for you. Afterwards, you can reactivate again on one additional machine. This can be useful if you’re moving around, or if one of your earlier systems crashed, or if the software is otherwise inaccessible.

How About for Use of Prior Versions?

There is one additional requirement for upgrade versions of Adobe software: If you upgrade but want to continue using your prior release, then per Adobe licensing terms the older product must be on the same computer(s) as your newer upgrade version.

And new since 2013: all Creative Cloud subscribers have full access to download and use previous major releases such as CS6 – instead of or in addition to the new CC version – together on the same machines.

Licensing for Education Editions

Note that the above policies work exactly the same for Adobe’s Education versions – there is no distinction for those here… However, one major difference in restrictions for all the Student and Teacher Editions is they can be run only on the customer’s privately-owned computer(s) and used by the eligible licensee.

Licensing for Virtual Machines and Servers

Importantly, Adobe defines a computer as “a virtual or physical device,” not just a CPU – so that includes running on virtualization platforms such as VMware Fusion, Parallels Desktop, Citrix XenApp, and Oracle VM VirtualBox. The same thing goes for a dual-boot system with a product installed on both partitions, including Apple Boot Camp.

So each virtual machine you install the software on would count as a single product activation per the rules described in this article. However, this does not mean the software can be installed on a server and accessed by multiple users that are more than the number of licensed seats that have been purchased (see Section 2.1.7 “Server Use” for more details).

If you’re part of an organization, group, business, or school, and/or need more than one user or computer running the software at the same time, then take a look at the flexibility and ease of maintenance available through Adobe’s new Creative Cloud for Teams. There you can save time, money, and headaches for multiple users, while benefiting from direct expert support:

Learn more about Creative Cloud for Teams and how to easily manage multiple copies.

Adobe’s single user license allows installation of a single product license on two machines (such as one work machine and one home machine) provided the same individual uses the software, and not concurrently on both machines.

However, reading carefully you see that would not preclude running one product (like Lightroom) on one machine, and a second product (like Photoshop) on another machine, at the same time.

Yet another question about private copy installation of Adobe CC for Teams. If it’s clear in the EULA (§2.1.3 Portable or Home Computer Use) that a home computer use is OK for purchased licenses (§2.1), it’s not that clear for membership-based licenses (§2.2) where nothing similar to §2.1.3 is stated.

I know it’s technically feasible to install two copies for a CC account and I also found comments on adobe’s forum … but I want to have a clear understanding of where in the EULA this is authorized.

Hey Roland, in that case §2.1.2.3 Subscription Edition should apply [For the Software available on a subscription-basis (“Subscription Edition”)].

But it looks like you are quoting the older EULA terms, which were confusing… For CC now it’s different, as it uses the newer Adobe General Terms of Use, which was last updated June 18, 2014 and replaces the October 16, 2012 version in its entirety.

This current EULA states:

“You may activate the Software on up to 2 devices (or virtual machines) at a time, if these activations are associated with the same Adobe ID for the same individual, unless stated at http://www.adobe.com/go/activation. However, you may not use the Software on these devices simultaneously.”

We are trying to get guidance on the last part, because we had heard from Adobe that a single user could now use the CC / Creative Cloud software on two computers at once. We will update further here if/when we receive clarification.

I’m trying to buy Photoshop Elements 11 & Premiere Elements 11 disks online, but I don’t know if they were previously installed on another computer. Both CDs (one for Mac, the other for PC) are supposed to be brand new. How do I know that they are not installed on another device?

I have adobe pro 9 on my desktop that I purchased in 2011. My old computer has gone out on me. How can I redownload the program onto my new laptop without having to pay again. The acrobat pro 9 version from 2011 suits my needs, so I don’t want to have to purchase a new one if there is a way for me to redownload it. I do not have a disk for it, i Just purchased it straight from the website.

I just purchased Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 and have a couple questions I can’t seem to find the answer to… I’d like to know what you’re aware of as far as:

I’m not sure how long I want to keep my 2010 laptop, and my husband & I would both like to use LR on both of our computers (I should have checked into this prior to purchase, but just bought the Canon Rebel T5i camera & was a little excited buying the photo editing program as a family investment, to go along with it)…

So, can we load the software unto both of our laptops (more than one computer, basically) AND be able to transfer my work OR at least this software to a new laptop when I acquire it in the near future – and will it be easy to do???

I’m not a tech person so Any and All Help for this newbie is welcomed and GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!

So I want to purchase photoshop cc via the special monthly plan. I have a desktop pc and a surface pro 3. To confirm, it will be possible to run photoshop cc 2014 on both these systems without purchasing additional licenses?

Hi, Please could you clarify the team licence rules for downloading to a work computer and a laptop to work seamlessly from home. Is this allowed, I can only see reference to allow it for single users?

Yes Zoe, that’s a good question – thanks for asking. Similar to the CC individual purchases, with the Creative Cloud for Teams product you should be able to run each license on up to two computers (office and home/portable), so long as the second copy of the software is used solely for the benefit and business of the licensee, and the two copies are not used at the same time…

You can read more and get confirmation on that direct from Adobe here:

Hi Jena, thanks for your question – it’s a good one. With the CS (Creative Suite) tools you never could do that. But with CC, there’s some question as to whether you’re allowed to run the same application on two different computers (or operating systems) at the same time…

And a previous version of the Creative Cloud FAQ indicated, “you can use Creative Cloud desktop applications on two computers at once, regardless of operating system” – but it no longer says that…

The Creative Cloud FAQ now says, “activation is limited to two machines per individual associated with the membership. See the terms of use for more information.”

And Adobe’s Activation instructions state, “A single license for Adobe software lets you install the applications on two computers—for example, at home and at the office. However, you can use the software on only one computer at any given time.”

Finally, the current Adobe Terms of Use say, “You may activate the Software on up to 2 devices (or virtual machines) at a time, if these activations are associated with the same Adobe ID for the same individual … However, you may not use the Software on these devices simultaneously.”

We’d tend to believe the latter is more accurate since it’s the legal licensing agreement of record, and we will be updating the article above to reflect this.

The good news is you can definitely install and run Adobe CC 2014 on both a Windows/PC and a Mac (two platforms) – but just may not be allowed to use them at the same time.

I’m looking to buying an older version like InDesign CS5.5 so it is not with the cloud. My question is, if I buy this software, how many computers can I install it on? I’m looking to be able to use it on a laptop and a main desktop computer.

Welcome Brandi, the previous CS (Creative Suite) tools are discussed in the article above, and generally you should be able to install them on up to two systems (either Windows or Mac but not both), provided the software isn’t used simulta­neously on both machines at once.

However, we definitely do not recommend trying to find or buy old Adobe software like that – it is too dangerous:

If you still want to buy a non-CC version of InDesign (or any other Adobe application like Photoshop, Illustrator, suite, etc), then actually Adobe still offers CS6 for sale direct… It’s the original release from 2012 so it’s not the latest and greatest creative software available, but it is a perpetual license and does not require the Creative Cloud (if that’s what you prefer):

That’s actually a common misconception Rick – most of Adobe’s new CC applica­tions do not – repeat – do not require a continual Internet connection to work… In general they are regular (local) desktop programs that can run offline, just like CS6.

The primary differences between the two releases are over 1,000 new features and enhancements added since 2012 when CS6 came out – plus CC can run on both/either Windows and Mac OS, whereas with CS6 you have to pick just one.

No, not at all Keith – virtually all Adobe software installs independently, so you can have different products -and even different versions of the same product – all running on the same single computer…

In other words, there’s no problem at all with running and using Photoshop CC, Photoshop Elements, and Lightroom all on the same machine at once.

Hi, I just recently bought Adobe Premiere Elements 11 and it came with both Mac OS and Windows DVD installation. So my question is, do I have two installations on both different systems (4 essentially) or two of only Windows or two of only Mac OS installation?

Hey Joshua, good question. Photoshop Elements (like Adobe CC or Lightroom) is multiplatform software, meaning you can activate up to two of your computers – and those systems can be either two Windows machines, two Mac OS, or one of each.